Chloe encourages young people to speak out on Budget 2011

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, this week encouraged young people locally to enter the "Chance to be Chancellor" competition run by the Citizenship Foundation in partnership with Aviva.

The charity is hoping to encourage young people across the UK to engage with, and voice their opinion on, the big economic challenges facing the Chancellor, in the run up to Budget 2011.

Paying for It is a free economics educational resource and online platform from education and participation charity the Citizenship Foundation, in partnership with Aviva. The website provides a series of interactive lesson plans for key stage 4 students (ages 14-16) that aim to encourage them to learn about and discuss the Government's economic priorities. Students are then invited to take part in "Chance to be Chancellor", which enables them to take on the role of the Chancellor – making decisions about how to save, cut and invest public money.

The competition closes on 5 March 2011 and, following this, the Citizenship Foundation will publish the first ever Youth Budget, which will represent the opinions and voices of everyone who has taken part. The young people who produce the most impressive budgets will be invited to the presentation of the Youth Budget at HM Treasury and the winner's budget will be published in The Times newspaper.

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North says:

'Good financial and economic understanding is vital for young people. It's what allows you to be part of the world around you. I am passionate about young people being involved in politics and society, so I urge people to sign up to this competition. If you have views on how the country's limited resources should be spent, say so!'

Andy Thornton, Chief Executive, Citizenship Foundation, says:

'Chance to be Chancellor helps our economic challenges come to life in the classroom. It's not only a great educational tool, but also in publishing the results of the competition as a Youth Budget we think it will become clear how citizenship education is enabling young people to get to grips with the big issues of the day.'

Andrew Rowlandson, Community Affairs Manager, Aviva, says:

'Chance to be Chancellor is an interactive and engaging way of educating young people about the big economic decisions currently facing the country. At Aviva, we're committed to increasing the economic awareness of young people throughout the UK to equip them to play an active part in society. The Chance to be Chancellor competition plays an important role in helping to achieve this.'

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